826 Valencia
Encyclopedia
Overview
Named for its street location in the Mission District of San Francisco, 826 Valencia was founded in 2002 by author Dave EggersDave Eggers
Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...
and veteran teacher Nínive Calegari
Nínive Clements Calegari
Nínive Clements Calegari is an educator in the United States. Following ten years of classroom experience in public schools, she became an author and founded a national literacy program.-Biography:...
, who both have ties to the literary and educational community. 826 consists of a writing lab, a street-front student-friendly pirate supply store that partially funds the programs, and two satellite classrooms in nearby middle schools. Over 1,400 volunteers—including published authors, magazine founders, SAT-course instructors, and documentary filmmakers—have donated their time to work with thousands of students. These volunteers allow 826 Valencia to offer all of its services for free.
826 Valencia's programming
826 Valencia's programming includes:In-schools programs
- Teams of volunteers visit local high-needs schools around San Francisco to support teachers and provide assistance to students as they tackle various projects, such as school newspapers, research papers, oral histories, and college-entrance essays.
Workshops
- 826 Valencia offers free workshops on weeknights and weekends designed to foster creativity and strengthen writing skills in a variety of genres such as cartooning, college application essay writing, or starting a ’zine. From the playful to the practical, all workshops are project-based and are taught by experienced, accomplished professionals.
Field trips
- Up to four times each week during the school year, 826 Valencia welcomes an entire class into the writing lab for a morning of custom-designed, project-based learning. Students may experience a roundtable discussion with a local author, enjoy an active workshop focused on poetry or journalism, or finalize pieces of writing for publication.
After-school tutoring
- Five days a week, dozens of students of all skill levels and interests come to 826 for free, one-on-one tutoring. Most of these students are from the predominately Latino neighborhood in the Mission District, and few speak English at home. When their homework is finished, some children work on extracurricular writing projects; others prefer to grab a book off the shelves and do some quiet reading.
Student publishing
- 826 Valencia publishes an array of student-authored literary journals, newspapers, books, and chapbooks. The largest publishing project each year is the Young Authors’ Book Project. In its seventh year, the project is the culmination of a semester-long collaboration with a local, public, San Francisco high school to write, edit, and design a book that is then published professionally and sold in bookstores nationwide.
Pirate supply store
826 Valencia runs San Francisco's "only independent pirate supply store." Located in the heart of San Francisco's Mission District, the store is the front entrance of the tutoring center and has the look and feel of an authentic pirate shop.The store sells pirate clothing, eyepatch
Eyepatch
An eyepatch or eye pad is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, or an adhesive bandage. It is often worn by people to cover a lost or injured eye, but it also has a therapeutic use in children for the...
es, compass
Compass
A compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined...
es, spyglasses, pirate dice
Dice
A die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
, skull flags
Jolly Roger
The Jolly Roger is any of various flags flown to identify a ship's crew as pirates. The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly Roger today is the skull and crossbones, a flag consisting of a human skull above two long bones set in an x-mark arrangement on a black field. This design was used by...
, and secret treasures. It features handmade signs, scattered around the store, offering tongue-in-cheek wisdom, such as "Uses for Lard" (#5: "Lard Fights") and "Guidelines for New Shipmates" (#4: "No forgetting to swab"). Unsuspecting visitors are sometimes treated to surprise "moppings." Shoppers can also find back issues of McSweeney's Quarterly Concern
Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern
Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern is a literary journal, first published in 1998, edited by Dave Eggers. The first issue featured only works rejected by other magazines, but thereafter the journal began to include pieces written with McSweeney's in mind. McSweeney’s has since published works by...
, books published by McSweeney's
McSweeney's
McSweeney's is an American publishing house founded by editor Dave Eggers.Apart from its book list, McSweeney's is responsible for four regular publications: the quarterly literary journal,...
, and essay and story compilations written by 826 Valencia students. The books of student writing published by 826 Valencia so far are I Might Get Somewhere, Waiting to Be Heard, Talking Back, and their newest book, Home Wasn't Built in a Day, which includes a foreword by Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
.
The pirate supply store was originally created through necessity. After being turned down for regular use of church basements and school facilities, the founders discovered an empty store for sale on Valencia Street. The city ordinances stated that any businesses in that particular area of the city must be either retail or catering, so the Pirate Supply Store was developed as the "legitimate" business front for the writing center.
There are now seven chapters that make up 826 National
826 National
826 National is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students, ages 6–18, with expository and creative writing at eight locations across the USA...
: 826NYC
826nyc
826NYC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, features a superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
-themed supply store, and another at 826 Michigan
826 Michigan
826michigan is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.-History:...
in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
is home to a robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
store. The 826 Seattle
826 Seattle
826 Seattle is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write. It is a regional chapter of the 826 National organization, founded by authors Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida...
writing center in Seattle's Greenwood
Greenwood, Seattle, Washington
Greenwood is a neighborhood in north central Seattle, Washington, USA.The neighborhood's primary north/south arterial is Greenwood Avenue North. The primary east/west arterial is North 85th Street, which carries traffic east to Interstate 5 and west to Golden Gardens Park...
neighborhood is host to the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Company. The Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
writing center is home to the Greater Boston Bigfoot Research Institute. Additional 826 chapters are located in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
(826LA
826LA
826LA is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills and helping teachers inspire their students to write. Programs are structured around the beliefs that great leaps in learning can happen with...
) and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
(826CHI). 826DC in Washington, DC officially opened in 2010; it was formerly the Capitol Letters Writing Center. In April 2010, as an extension of the 826 Valencia scholarship program, Eggers launched ScholarMatch
ScholarMatch
ScholarMatch is a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that connects donors with prospective college students in order for them to help fund students' education.-History:ScholarMatch was launched in April 2010 by writer and philanthropist Dave Eggers...
, a nonprofit organization that connects donors with students to make college more affordable.